


Aegrescit Medendo

by Miishae



Category: Septic egos, Video Blogging RPF, jacksepticeye
Genre: Angst, Comfort, Family Feels, Hurt, Religious Themes, Tragedy, deity worship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-02
Updated: 2020-04-05
Packaged: 2020-11-22 07:00:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20870108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miishae/pseuds/Miishae
Summary: When Marvin was two years old, he was struck by tragedy. This has haunted him all his life, causing him to shut people out and strive to perfect his magic as a result. It took one second and one mistake for his past to come back to face him, and now he has to repair the damage that was done to him so many years ago.





	1. Chapter 1

How long had he’d been at this? A quick glance at the clock told Marvin it was 5:30 in the morning, so he forced himself to straighten his spine.

He’d spent all of last night and most of yesterday hunched over his books, chanting spells and trying to conjure up _anything_ that would possibly be of use to him, but his results have turned up nothing, and he only had a cracking back to show for it.

A brief thought of coffee entered his mind, but Marvin pushed it away. He should probably actually sleep soon, rather than continue this fruitless research for something he didn’t even know what the results were.

As he made to stand up, he knocked over one of his books, along with a couple of crystals, to the floor. With a grumble, he bent over to pick it up his mess, swearing as a finger brushed over one of the crystals. It was _hot_ to the touch, with Marvin realizing he’d forgotten to remove the enchantments on it. He shoved his finger in his mouth as he looked around for his gloves, or rather, the spell he needed to make them safe to touch again. Absently, Marvin mumbled in Latin, not quite sure what he was saying in his sleep deprived state.

Whatever he’d mumbled wasn’t what he’d intended. Because the few crystals still on the floor immediately glued themselves together and started spiraling around, slowly lifting up off the ground as a bright glow encased his room. It was too bright, and Marvin quickly found himself raising an arm to cover his eyes. It wasn’t working, it was still too painfully bright.

The glow finally narrowed down into a circle. It was small, about the size of a handheld mirror, but it was a green glow, mixed with faint purples. Marvin couldn’t help but be drawn in to the swirling colors, staring with horror and fascination.

It almost looked like a portal.

_“Hello? Is someone there? Máthair?”_ A male voice rang out. His voice was faint, full of echoes, and almost went unheard in the faint ambiance of magics. It was almost unfamiliar to Marvin, but at the same time, so _deeply familiar_ to him that his heart started to pound faster.

Within the swirls, faint images of two people could be seen. A young couple, a man and a woman, stood side by side. They were hidden in shadows – all Marvin could see were silhouettes. But they were both shouting, until one of them, the woman, turned unmistakably toward Marvin.

_“Darling, who is that man?”_

“M…mam?” Marvin whispered. “Dad?” It had to be them. He’d spent so long searching, improving, and growing. This had to be it!

_“Dad, mam? Is this our son? When did he become a man? How much time has passed?”_

“Mam!” Marvin leaned in closer, eyes widening and filling with unshed tears. “Where are you? I’ve been trying-” 

_“Marvin? How did you find us?”_

“I-I don’t know! I don’t know what I did, I’ve been _trying_.” He held his hands up to the portal, as if he could reach through and touch them. “I knew you were alive. I _knew_ it!”

_“Look at you_,” the man said softly. He lifted his own hands, reaching out toward Marvin. _“You’ve become a man in such a short amount of time.”_

“I’m going to bring you home,” Marvin promise. “Just hang on, I can-” 

He started to grab his books again, accidentally bumping into the crystals. Whatever spell was holding them together was broken, and they came apart, clattering to the ground. The portal disappeared just as instantly, fading into wisps of green smoke. 

“No, no no no!” Marvin shouted, grabbing at the crystals. They were no longer hot, but now cold to the touch. “Bring them back! Dad, mam! _Come back!_”

There was a knock on his door. “Marv?” Chase’s sleepy voice came wafting in. “Marvin are you okay? It’s almost six in the morning.”

Marvin couldn’t bring himself to answer. He silently cried, clutching the crystals to his chest.


	2. Chapter 2

“Marvin, you _have_ to talk to me,” Chase said firmly. He was kneeling next to Marvin on the floor, where they’d been sitting for the past two hours. Marvin hadn’t spoken a word in that time, and Chase was concerned that something serious had happened to Marvin. “C’mon, you know I’m gonna do anything for you. Why won’t you talk to me?”

“I can’t,” Marvin whispered. Chase was more relieved than he should have been to hear Marvin’s voice, but it was still very alarming that Marvin was behaving this way at all. In all the time Chase had known him, he’d never let anything get to him, he was the protector, people _feared_ him.

“Why can’t you? Marv, I don’t understand what happened. You look like you saw death. What’s-”

“I _can’t_!” Marvin snapped, finally lifting his head. His multi-colored eyes were staring past Chase, at the wall, but he looked angry nonetheless. “You wouldn’t understand!”

“Marvin, you’ve seen the worst of me,” Chase protested weakly, scrambling back. “You were there by my side when I was lost, broken, almost _dead_. Why won’t you let me return the favor? You’re my best friend.”

“Because it’s not the same,” Marvin said, gaze finally drifting over to Chase. He didn’t look so angry now, he just looked lost. That scared Chase more than anything he’d ever faced in the past. “You have people who love you. You know where your family is, right? You got your parents, you’ve got your kids. You have your sisters. You know where they are.”

“My sisters are idiots and we don’t talk. Also you know where your grandmother is too,” Chase countered, confused. “You visit her often. Marvin, I don’t understand.”

“My parents are gone!” Marvin snapped. He leaned back and hopped back to his feet, remaining in place as he went back to staring at the wall. “They disappeared when I was _two_. Are you happy? I never wanted anyone to know about this, because it’s no one’s business!”

Chase didn’t say anything as he looked up at Marvin. He remembered asking countless times, only to be shut down with an abrupt change of conversation, or a heavy silence until Chase himself was forced to change the conversation. Come to think of it, he didn’t know a whole lot about Marvin at all. The magician was always so secretive, but that was part of his charm. Chase _liked_ the mystery.

He wasn’t sure if he liked the truth much, but it was something new to learn.

“How-” 

“I’m done,” Marvin said flatly. “I can’t talk about this.”

“That’s not fair,” Chase argued. “You can’t drop a bomb on me and then shut down. You don’t get to wiggle your way into my life so completely and then withhold things, that’s not how friendships work.”

“I don’t know how it works,” Marvin grumbled. “I didn’t have any friends before I met you and Jackie.” 

“You had friends. You told me you knew people.”

Marvin started laughing at that, a wheezing, desperate laugh that sounded like he was dangerously close to tears again. “One night stands don’t count as friends, Chase. They’re strangers you fuck and then never talk to again. I’m a loser, okay? I’m a friendless, orphaned loser, and that’s all anyone needs to know about me.”

“Hey. Don’t be so hard on yourself,” Chase griped. “You’re not alone, you’ve got us. Don’t know why you’re still trying to push me away when I just sat here with you for over two hours.”

“You’re right, I’m sorry. I just…” Marvin wiped at his eyes with the heel of his hand. “I’m being an idiot, throwing a temper tantrum, and I’m not being fair to you. I don’t know _how_ to talk.”

“You could start with that incident at two.”

Marvin shook his head. “It’s not a story I want to tell, and if I’m going to tell you, I’m going to tell everyone, that way I don’t have to repeat myself.” He looked at the wall again.

Chase followed his gaze to the wall in confusion, then looked back at Marvin. “Okay, I’ll bite, what’s so fascinating about the wall? You keep looking at it.”

“Just make sure everyone’s ready to go by the afternoon. That way I can prepare my story. Gotta make it good, right?”

“Marvin,” Chase warned.

The magician let out a sigh, then traced his fingers around in a large circle. “Because that’s where I saw my parents,” he responded softly, letting his hands drop. “Two hours ago. I keep hoping they’ll come back.”


	3. Chapter 3

“I don’t like that we’ve been sitting here for almost ten minutes without a word from you,” Jackie gripes, staring up at Marvin. “You have to talk at some point, we’re all here.”

“This is hard for me, okay?” Marvin responds, rubbing his hands together nervously. “I’m not prepared.” He goes back to pacing back and forth, looking at the front door occasionally, as if ready to bolt. 

“Hey, deep breath,” Chase urges gently. “None of us are going anywhere.”

“Right, okay.” Marvin takes in a few deep breaths, closing his eyes as finally braces himself. “So… I have parents,” he begins. “Before you say anything, yes, _duh_, everyone has parents. But mine…aren’t around.”

With his eyes closed, it’s easier for Marvin to mentally travel back to the past, recalling this just as vividly as it had happened.

“It was past midnight.” He’s whispering now. “My parents invited their whole coven over to perform a ritual. They wanted to open a gate to the void. Not just any gate, but one to let a God into our world.”

“What kind of god?” Henrik asks softly. 

“The god we worshipped. The one I still worship.” Marvin opens his eyes and reaches down to hold up the deer skull he’d brought down with him. “Cernunnos, Ancient Celtic deity of nature and fertility. Takes the form of a stag.” He traces his fingers over the skull with a reverence the others had never seen before. “They thought that if our god was physically with us, he’d grant us power beyond our…_their_…belief.”

“I take it this didn’t work out in their favor,” Henrik responds, eyes on the skull with interest.

“No.” Marvin sighs. “There was someone else in the coven. He was he only one other than my parents who was born with magic. Everyone else had learned it by study. According to my Nan, he didn’t worship a deity, he wanted the powers of the void for himself.” Marvin puts the skull on his face slowly.

They had never seen Marvin wear this at home before. It’s a heavy-looking skull, and Marvin wearing it makes him look different. _Feral_, almost. Chase has the sensation that Marvin’s worn this skull plenty of times.

“He took advantage of the circle,” Marvin continues, idly letting his hands conjure up wisps of green smoke. There’s a slight purple tinge to the smoke, which tells Chase that Marvin’s having some conflicting thoughts here.

“He took this gate, broke the circle and killed everyone. Trapped my parents behind the gate before closing it and leaving.” He pulls in on himself, hugging himself as he bows himself. “I still remember the fire. My nan had to call for help, but the house had burnt down. We were forced to move.”

“So that’s why your nan raised you,” Jackie says. “I always wondered about that, but you were always so closed off about family.”

“She moved back to Ireland. She never wanted to raise me in the first place, she was already sick.” Marvin takes the mask off, almost reluctantly, setting it back down with the same reverence. “I had the same powers my parents did. Or rather, my dad. My mom has magic too, but she’s not as powerful as my family line is.” He lets out a snort, shaking his head.

“So you grew up practicing magic?” Chase asks.

“Yeah, basically.” Marvin sighs. “My nan won’t use her magic anymore, not that I blame her. But she never discouraged me from improving myself. She even worked with me, training me for hours every day until I had a better grasp of it. Learning wasn’t easy. It wasn’t just casting spells. It was learning new languages, learning about my family history, and learning _why_ we worshipped the god we did. We can be traced back to ancient times.”

“Oohh, that’s actually neat,” Jackie says with a nod. “Why didn’t you ever tell us this before?”

“Because then I’d have to explain that I am performing active rituals in my spare time. I didn’t want to answer questions that didn’t need to be answered.”

“Wait, what rituals?” Chase asks. “And where?”

“In the forest,” Marvin responds. “I have a handful of shrines I cleansed and made my own. Cernunnos leaves me small gifts in return for my worship.”

“Er,” Henrik clears his throat. “What gifts?” 

“The entire forest is mine,” Marvin says. “To harvest and eat as much meat as I can. In turn, the number of deer is increasing, so I can make more masks and skulls for worship. It’s not closed off because it’s dangerous, it’s closed off because Cernunnos wished it so. Only people I deem worthy may enter.”

“Are we worthy?” Chase asks. He’s feeling irritated, maybe. Marvin’s supposed to be his best friend, but Chase had _no idea_ about any of this.

“I don’t know. I haven’t opened up to anyone except my nan.” Marvin’s looking nervous now, cracking his knuckles as he looks around at each of the others. “It’s not that I don’t trust you it’s…”

“You didn’t know how we could help,” Jackie finishes softly. “I get it, we don’t have magic. But we still don’t know what your end goal is here.”

“My magic isn’t nearly strong enough,” Marvin mumbles, playing with his hair. “It took almost twenty people to open that gate. I am only one person. I have to get better so I can free them, and finish what they tried to do.”

“What are you going to do if you release a living god into this world?” Henrik asks. “That…I don’t know about this, Marvin.”

“I mean…uh…_Marvel_ pulled it off?”

“That’s not funny,” Jackie says. “Just because a comic book played with that trope doesn’t mean you can. You can’t contain gods, Marv. We can help you with your parents, but i think you need to think about the rest of this.”

“I’m thirty years old,” Marvin says helplessly. “I’ve been thinking about this for years. I have to try _something_.”

“Marvin, we’ll help you however we can,” Chase says quickly. “Or at least, I will.” He shoots a glare at the other two. “You’re a protector, you’re not the type to willingly throw the entire human race under the bus that quickly.”

“You have to believe me,” he whispers. “I’d never hurt anyone.”

“I believe you,” Chase says, turning back to Marvin. “I’m mad that you never told us before now, we’re your friends. You’ve had several years to get used to the idea of having us as friends. Don’t withhold things from me anymore.”

“I’m sorry.” Marvin hangs his head. “Thanks, Chase. You really are the nicest of all of us.”

“So, how can we help?” Jackie asks. “Because you know we’re going to try in any way we can.”

“I uh…” Marvin clears his throat, offering a small grin. “Wanna take a walk through the woods?”


	4. Chapter 4

_There’s a fire burning, raging through him. He can’t move, trapped still, in some empty darkness. He can hear voices, and just beyond the flames, he can make out two silhouettes. He’s never seen them before in this hellscape, but he already knows who they are. They’re trying to whisper something to him, but he can’t make out their voices above the crackling fire, nor can he make out any distinct figure. He’s trying– he’s trying! All he can do is stand in place, choking on the flames. Is the fire raging all around him or has he ignited the intial spark, and is burning alive from the inside out? Marvin doesn’t know, and it doesn’t matter. It’s a choking, burning torture that leaves him open mouthed and screaming in agony._

_Through it all, he can only vividly make out one visual: a pair of green eyes, seen just beyond the darkness. Glowing, almost, and focused entirely on him. Marvin has the feeling that no matter where he hides, those same green eyes are always going to be staring at him._

He’s awake, twisted in his blanket. Even though he’s too warm with his body screaming at him to de-tangle himself, Marvin’s shivering. He’s had that dream almost every night for several weeks straight, and it’s reaching a point where he’s feverish, trying to figure out what meaning his mind is trying to thrust at him. It’s not just the obsession he’s stuck with, there’s an uneasiness that comes with the end of this nightmare each time.

There’s someone, or some _thing_, watching him.

Marvin forces himself to relax. He can’t stop trembling, but he can try to release the tension in his muscles long enough to pull himself free from his bed. The air is chill, goosebumps immediately covering his arms. He makes no attempt to hug himself as he stares into a particularly dark corner of his room. He’s sure he can almost make out two faint green dots, but with a flipped light switch, there’s nothing to be seen, just his mind playing tricks on him.

The unease only grows from here. It’s different tonight, there’s something clearly off. The dream had never been so vivid before that he could make out his _parents_, and he can’t shake those green eyes. He’s sure he’s being watched, but even a glance out his window reveals nothing. With teeth chattering, Marvin starts inspecting his room. He could chalk it up to Jackie sleepwalking into his room again, but that doesn’t feel like the case. There’s an aura here, definitely. He knows someone was in his room.

It’s going to drive him crazy, because no matter how many times he shuffles things out of place, he’s not going to find anything It’s probably best if he leaves the stifling aura behind, let his room ‘air out’ so to speak. Grabbing his phone, he steps out into the hallway. Closing the door behind him, Marvin feels an instant sense of relief. That feeling is already fading, though now he’s too awake to walk back in and face that dread all over again.

He checks the time - it’s only four in the morning. He’d be okay with being awake at this time normally, but he’s still uneasy, finding some company sounds better than trying to shake off a ghost.

Instinctively, he heads for Chase’s room. If there’s one person he can count on to help him feel better, it’s Chase. He’s barely able to grab the handle when he hears a yell, a series of thumps, and the sound of glass shattering. Marvin jerks back from the door, staring, as if he could see _through_ it, but the sounds didn’t come from Chase’s room.

They came from Jackie’s.

Jackie’s door is flung open, and he comes barreling out just seconds later. He’s still in his pajamas, though now with a mask on his face. His fists are up, and his eyes are glowing bright blue, focused on his room. Marvin’s heart his thumping, and his own fists come up, green magic encasing his hands as he braces himself for a fight.

“Jackie?” Marvin presses, stealing a glance toward the hero. “What’s wrong?”

“There was someone in my room,” Jackie snarls. “I woke up to some asshole leaning over me.” Jackie is still not looking toward Marvin, he’s now walking back toward his room. “How the fuck did someone get in, Marvin? You have the place warded.”

“Are…are you sure it was someone? You weren’t dreaming?” Marvin isn’t sure why he’s so skeptical of Jackie’s claim, he himself had left his own room because of an uneasy aura. It’s the possibility, he tells himself, that they’re really being stalked.

“Positive,” Jackie says shortly. “There was someone there, leaning over my bed when I woke up. I swear that person was glowing.” He finally looks sideways at Marvin, jerking his head toward the room. Marvin knows what Jackie’s insinuating. If this is a work of magic, _since clearly_, this stranger is able to get past his wards, then Marvin needs to take the lead this time, not Jackie.

“Alright.” Marvin lets out a sigh as he steps closer. He can feel that aura again, this time far stronger than the one in his room. It’s as if someone had dumped ice cold water on him, because he’s shivering again, unable to move anywhere. He can’t enter the room, nor can he find the strength to back out of it. It’s overwhelming, and _suffocating_.

To ground himself, he clutches the frame, reminding himself that it’s just an aura, it can’t physically do anything to him. Marvin is sure it’s terror, over any actual threat. “Jackie,” he says, looking over his shoulder. “Get the others up. Make sure no one’s lingering in their rooms.”

“You think-”

“Someone’s been here,” Marvin says, finally confirming Jackie’s fear. “They were in my room too.” He pushes himself into Jackie’s room, flipping on the light so he can look around. Jackie’s nightstand is turned over, and his window is broken. What baffles him over anything is the shattered glass is on the _inside_, rather than outward. With a deep breath, he crouches down and picks up a glass shard with his magic, careful not to touch it with his fingers.

There’s nothing particular interesting about the shards, there’s no magic he can detect. Perhaps the glass just shattered at random, with a few shards having fallen inward by chance. He pokes his head out the window and looks down at the yard below, where the majority of the glass can be seen reflecting the moonlight.

“What’s going on?” Chase’s voice has Marvin jerking back inside, whirling around to face Chase. He’d nearly forgotten about the others being there, and he almost feels _guilty_, as if he’d been doing something suspicious. Jackie’s not standing in the hallway, which tells Marvin he either went to Henrik’s room or downstairs. It’s just Marvin and Chase, now.

“We have -or rather, _had_\- an intruder,” Marvin explains. “He was in both mine and Jackie’s rooms. Jumped out the window, it seems.” He waves his hand toward the shards on the carpet. “You didn’t feel anything off, did you? Like some weird aura?”

“I can’t sense auras the way you can,” Chase says. “If there was someone in my room, you’d be able to tell, wouldn’t you?” He bites at his bottom lip with that statement. “But then if that’s the case, how would-”

“That’s what I wanna know,” Marvin interrupts. “I don’t know how someone was able to get past my wards. The aura I felt kinda matches with what Jackie told me, too.” He crouches back down, now carefully picking up all the shards inside, letting them swirl around in a lazy circle. He doesn’t want to touch them at all, but he’s willing to see if there’s any hidden magic that he could detect.

“Marv, it’s too fucking early for you to be cryptic or mysterious. Can’t you just talk normally?” Chase yawns, stretching his hands above his head. “All I’m really getting is you guys think our guy has some sorta magic. Do you want me to get you a bag?”

Marvin sighs. “Yeah. There’s something else I haven’t told you guys though.” He turns around to face Chase, gaze dropping to the floor.

“Uh, I don’t like…Marvin what the fuck are you not saying this time?” Chase is crouching down too, making himself eye level with Marvin. “I might be half awake, but I’m still here.”

“The issue isn’t just that we have an intruder,” Marvin mumbles, letting the glass fall back to the carpet. “The issue is, I think I know this person.”

“What do you mean, you think you _know this person?_” Chase is frowning, eyes narrowing in a sudden suspicion. He’s radiating concern, and Marvin’s only flinching away.

“I’ve been having the same dream every night for over a month.” Marvin takes in a deep breath. “And every night, I just see a pair of glowing green eyes.”

“Okay, why haven’t you told any of us this before?” Chase asks. “Henrik can help you if you’re having trouble sleeping or getting back to sleep.”

“That’s not the point,” Marvin says. “I don’t think it’s a _dream._” He shakes his head. “Nevermind, I’m not making any sense, you can go back to bed.” He stands up, turning to leave the room. He wants to gather up the glass in a bag so he can study it more closely.

“No no, you don’t get to drop that on me and walk away,” Chase argues. “What are you talking about?” Chase is standing upright too, grabbing Marvin’s arm. “Talk to me, bro.”

With another sigh, Marvin turns around. The aura he felt earlier is already fading, leaving him feeling _tired_. “Chase, I think someone’s been actively watching me for over a month. This is just the first time he was inside.” He pulls his arm away from Chase, not wanting to talk anymore. “So yeah, surprise. I’m being stalked by someone else who has magic.”

With that bombshell, he leaves the room.


End file.
